Double knit fabric utilizing tuck,knit and welt stitches

ABSTRACT

A DOUBLE KNIT FABRIC HAS A FIRS SET OF ALTERNATING WALES FORMING THE FACE OF THE FABRIC AND A SECOND SET OF WALES FORMING THE REVERSE SIDE OF THE FABRIC. EACH COURSE HAS AT LEAST FIRST AND SECOND YARNS. IN THE FRONT WALES, ONE OF THE YARNS IN EACH COURSE WILL HAVE A KNIT STITCH IN A GIVEN WALE AND THE OTHER YARNS IN THAT COURSE WILL HAVE A WELT STITCH FOR THAT WALE. EACH OF THE REVERSE SIDE WALES HAS A REPEATING STITCH PATTERN OF A KNIT STITCH, AT LEAST ONE WELT STITCH, AND A TUCK STITCH, WITH THE STITCH PATTERN OF AD JACENT PAIRS OF REVERSE SIDE WALES BEING OFFSET WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER.

Oct. 5, 1971 J BLQRE 3,609,999

DOUBLE KNIT FABRIC UTILIZING TUCK. KNIT AND WELT STITCHES Filed March 16, 1970 Cl DI C2 D2 C3 DI Cl D2 C2 DI C3 D2 8 K W K T W W K T K W W T 7 W K W W K K W W W K K W 6 K T K W W T K W K T W 3 5 W W W K K W W K W W K K 4 K W W T W W K T W W W T 3 W K K W K K W W K K K W 2 W T W W K T W W W T K W K W K K W W K K K W W K w u) [z O 3 w F/G. Z 8 u.

3 fi Cl DI C2 D2 C3 DI CI D2 C2 DI C3 D2 O INVENTOR I J. H. BLORE A TTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,609,999 DOUBLE KNIT FABRIC U'I'ILIZING TUCK, KNIT AND WELT STITCHES James H. Blore, Greenville, S.C., assignor to Phillips Fibers Corporation Filed Mar. 16, 1970, Ser. No. 19,755 Int. Cl. D04b 9/08 U.S. Cl. 66-196 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A double knit fabric has a first set of alternating Wales forming the face of the fabric and a second seth of Wales forming the reverse side of the fabric. Each course has at least first and second yarns. In the front Wales, one of the yarns in each course will have a knit stitch in a given wale and the other yarns in that course Will have a Welt stitch for that wale. Each of the reverse side Wales has a repeating stitch pattern of a knit stitch, at least one Welt stitch, and a tuck stitch, With the stitch pattern of adjacent pairs of reverse side Wales being offset With respect to each other.

This invention relates to double knit fabrics. In one aspect the invention relates to a new and improved stitch pattern to hide barr. In another aspect the invention relates to a tuck-knit-Welt blister stitch fabric. In a further aspect the invention relates to a stitch pattern for textured polyester yarn in a double knit fabric.

Textured double knit fabrics have achieved significant prominence in the textile industry. Development of these fabrics has not been without problems, and chief among these problems has been the production of a fabric free from horizontal lines, or barr. This problem of barr is inherent in all fabrics knitted on multifeed machines. Polyester yarns, With a high sensiti'vity towards heat variations, are particularly difficult to run Without barr. With the introduction of double knit machines with up to 64 feeds, the problems became more acute. Only one feed threaded with a yarn that dyes lighter or darker than the remaining 63 Will cause objectionable barr. In addition to more yarn variations that cause barr, a higher number of feeds results in more knitting adjustments that have to be controlled.

One of the techniques that is used to fight barr is the use of dyed yarns. This is more expensive than using natural yarns for solid shades, but the operator can readil'y see any objectionable streakiness When a new yarn is creeled in the machine and seconds can often be prevented With the use of dyed yarns. Another technique involves dyeing a small swatch of fabric cut from the first yard knitted. This method is expensive because the machine is idle while the swatch is being dyed and extra labor is necessary to do the cutting and dyeing. In addition, the yarn texture can change in the middle of a cone of feed yarn, and the dyed swatch Will not be representative of all of the fabric. Another technique of fighting barr involves knitting a number of courses from each cone of yarn on a single-feed machine and dyeing the resultant sleeve. Again the additional Work is expensive and yarn conditions can change inside the cone. A fourth technique is utilizing a stitch that helps to hide any unevenness in the yarn. The most successful stitches are those producing horizontal lines such as Ottomans and ripple stitches. However, there is a limit to the amount of these styles of fabrics that can be consumed by dress, suits and sportwear manufacturers. Other relief stitches such as twill, crepes and Jacquards help to disguise barr to the point Where it becomes acceptable.

Patented Oct. 5, 1971 Most of these relief stitches are produced over a cycle that extends over six feeds, such as:

Feed 1:

Knt selected cylinder needles Knit odd dial needles, Welt even dial needles Feeds 2 and 3:

Knt opposite selected cylinder needles Welt all dial needles Feed 4:

Knit selected cylinder needles Knit even dial needles, Welt odd dial needles Feeds 5 and 6:

Knt opposite selected cylinder needles Welt all dial needles Examnation of the loop structure shows that one full course is knitted on the back or dial side of the fabric for each six-feed repeat, so that a 36-feed machine produces 6 courses per cylinder revolution and a `48-feed machine Will knit 8 courses per revolution. Dial needle figures are used to calculate production figures because the cylinder needles are only knitting raised embellishments.

In addition to this loss of production compared With other fabrics, regular relief stitches are more difficult to knit Without defects such as holes and drop stitches. This is because dial needle stitches hang onto their needles for six feeds before they are finally cast oif to form a new stitch. This puts an additional strain on the yarn.

Because no dial needles are in action during the knitting of four feeds of each repeat, there is a limit to the number of cylinder needles that can miss taking the yarn at these feeds. The number of cylinder needles is determned by the cut of the cylinder and the cylinder diameter, but most production personnel donit like to knit 18-cut fabric where more than eight consecutive cylinder needles miss taking the yarn.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a new and irnproved double knit fabric. Another object of the invention is to minimize, if not eliminate, the appearance of barr in a double knit fabric. A further object of the invention is to provide an improved blister stitch pattern for double knit fabrics. Yet another object of the invention is to increase the production rate of double knit fabric incorporating a blister stitch pattern. Another object of the invention is to minimize the production of second quality fabrics.

Other objects, aspects and advantages of the invention Will be apparent from a study of the specification, the drawings and the appended claims to the invention.

In accordance With the present invention there is provided a new method of knitting textured stitches that helps hide barr and provides easier knitting with fewer faults and a faster rate of production than the regular relief stitch. Each course has at least a first yarn and a second yarn. In the cylinder Wales, one of the yarns in each course Will have a knit stitch for a given wale and the other yarns in that course Will have a Welt stitch at that wale. Each of the dial Wales has a repeating stitch pattern of a knit stitch, at least one Welt stitch, and a tuck stitch, with the stitch pattern of adjacent pairs of dial Wales being offset With respect to each other. Although the texture may not be as pronounced as the 6-feed relief stitch, the weight per square yard Will be somewhat less, so the new fabric Will be less expensive because of the higher yield, the faster production, and fewer seconds.

Any two-color Jacquard design, using a positive and negative selection, can be used to produce this new double knit fabric. To knit an overall design With a small pattern area, such as a right hand twill, the first feed can seelct the first two cylinder needles to knit and the third and fourth cylinder needles to Welt (miss). The second feed can select opposite cylinder needlescausing the first two cylinder needles to Welt and the third and fourth cylinder needles to knit. Any other pattern Where a first yarn is knitted by a first group of selected cylinder needles (positive) and Welted by the remaining cylinder needles (negative) and the corresponding second yarn is welted by the first group of selected cylinder needles (positive) and knitted by the remaining cylinder needles (negative) can be employed.

The dial feeds can be set so that in a four-feed sequence, the first feed Will miss odd needles and knit even needles, the second feed will tuck odd needles and miss even needles, the third feed will knit odd needles and miss even needles, and the fourth feed Will miss odd needles and tuck even needles.

A pattern for cylinder and dial needles utilizing the above sequences is as follows:

This tuck relief stitch requires 4 feeds to knit one complete course on the dial needles. This means that a 48- !feed machine can knit 12 complete courses on the dial per cylinder revolution. An additional bonus is the ease of production of Wider width fabric. With the present invention, 60-62 Widths'can be produced with 150/ 34 textured yarns on 18-cut machine Without problems.

In the drawings FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of a stitch construction for a double knit fabric in accordance With the invention, With the stitches being expanded laterally to show both the face stitches and the reverse side stitches. FIG. 2 is a pattern diagram of the face stitches formed by the cylinder needles and the reverse side stitches formed by the dial needles in making the fabric illustrated in FIG. 1 on a circular knitting machine.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, and to FIGS. 1 and 2 in particular, there is illustrated a fabric swatch four courses high and twelve Wales wide. The first set of Wales C1, C2, C3, C1, C2, C3, etc., are formed by the cylinder needles on a double knit machine and alternate in the fabric With the second set of Wales D1, D2, D1, D2, etc. formed by the dial needles. Thus, each cylinder wale in the interior of the fabric is positioned between two dial Wales. In the finished fabric the set of cylinder Wales are in a plane parallel to the set of dial Wales, and the fabric contracts laterally so that the set of cylinder Wales contact each other to form the face of fabric and the set of dial Wales contact each other to form the reverse side of the fabric.

Each course comprises a first, or add numbered feed, yarn and a second, or even numbered feed, yarn. In this particular fabric, the cylinder Wales comprise three groups of Wales, C1, C2 and C3, arranged in a horizotal serial repeating sequence of a wale C1, a wale C2` and a wale C3, With a Vertical serial repeating sequence of every :four courses. The first, or feed 1, yarn has a knit stitch K and the second, or feed 2, yarn has a Welt stitch W in course 1 of the repeat pattern for each of the first and second groups of Wales C1 and C2. The first, or feed 3, yarn has a knit stitch K and the second, or feed 4, yarn has a Welt stitch W in course 2 of the repeat pattern for each of second and third groups of Wales G2 and C31. The first, or feed 5, yarn has a knit stitch K and the second, or feed 6, yarn has a Welt stitch W in course 3 of the repeat pattern for the third group of Wales C3. The first, or feed 7, yarn has a knit stitch K and the second, or feed 8, yarn has a Welt stitch W in course 4 of the repeat pattern for the third group of Wales C3.

The first, or 'feed 1, yarn has a Welt stitch W and the second, or feed 2, yarn has a knit stitch K in course 1 for the third group of Wales C3. The first, or feed 3, yarn has a Welt stitch W and the second, or feed 4, yarn has a knit stitch K in coures 2 for the first group of Wales C1. The first, or lfeeds 5 and 7, yarns have Welt stitches W and the second, or feeds 6 and 8, yarns have knit stitches K in courses 3 and 4 for the first and second groups of Wales C1 and C2.

Thus, each set of stitches formed by the intersection of a course and a cylinder wale comprises a knit stitch in one of the first and second yarns and a Welt stitch in the other of the said first and second yarns. While the cylinder Wale pattern illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is preferred for some fabrics, other cylinder stitch patterns can be employed Where at least one yarn in each course has a knit stitch in a given cylinder wale and the remainder of the yarn of that course have Welt stitches at that cylinder wale. The knit stitches in the cylinder Wales can be on a recognizable pattern or on a randomly selected basis Within the repeat area.

In this particular fabric the dial Wales comprise an odd numbered set of Wales D1 and an even numbered set of Wales D2. The first, or odd numbered, yarn of each odd numbered course (feeds 1 and 5) has a Welt stitch W in the odd numbered set of dial Wales D1 and a knit stitch K in the even numbered set of dial Wales D2. The second, or even numbered, yarn of each odd number course (feeds 2 and 6) has a tuck stitch T in the odd numbered set of dial Wales D1 and a Welt stitch W in the even numbered set of dial Wales D2. The first, or odd numbered, yarn of each even numbered course (feeds 3 and 7) has a knit stitch K in the odd numbered set of dial Wales D1 and a Welt stitch W in the even numbered set of dial Wales D2. The second, or even numbered, yarn of each even numbered course (feeds 4 and 8) has a Welt stitch W in the odd numbered set of dial Wales D1 and a tuck stitch T in the even numbered set of dial Wales D2. Thus, each dial wale has a repeating stitch pattern of K-W-W T, With the stitch pattern of the odd numbered set of dial Wales D1 being offset With respect to the stitch pattern of the even numbered set of dial Wales D2. While this dial Wale pattern is presently preferred, other dial wale stitch patterns utilizing a knit sttich, at least one but less than four Welt stitches, and a tuck stitch can be employed. For example, the dial wale stitch pattern can be K-W-T or K W W-W-T. The dial Wales can be divided into more than two sets, With the stitch pattern of adjacent pairs of dial Wales being offset With respect to each other.

To obtain a more textured effect, the odd feeds can be set to pull a longer stitch than the even feeds. Where pattern repeats are not too Wide (6 to 8 needles) tape feed mechanisms may be safely used.

Swiss or synchronized timing, Where the dial needles draw their stitch at the same time as the cylinder needles, may be used. However, Where textured polyester yarns are knitted, the timing of the dial needles may be adjusted to draw their stitches about one needle later than the cylinder needles. This has the effect of tightening the stitch.

Obviously, other similar arrangements of cylinder and dial needles and cams can produce a variety of fabrics. For instance, a three-color Iacquard arrangement can be used on the cylinder needles instead of a two-color Jacquard.

While the yarns have been illustrated in FIG. 1 as monofilaments for sake of simplicity, it is Within the scope of the invention to employ any known substantially compact or unbulked yarn, bulked yarn, stretch yarn or modified stretch yarn of natural or synthetic material, whether monofilament, multifilament, continuous filament, staple, or blend of continuous filaments and staple. Synthetic yarns which can be employed include linear condensation polymers or linear addition polymers, for example, acrylonitrile polymers and copolymers; polyarnides, such as polyhexamethylene adipamide, polycaproamide, poly- (meta-phenylene isophthalamide), and copolyamides; polyesters, such as polypivalolactone, polyethylene terephthalate, and copolyesters prepared from glycols and terephthalic and isophthalic acids; polyolefins, such as polyethylene, and ethylene copolymers, polypropylene and propylene copolymers; polybeazimidazole; copolymers of acrylonitrile With small amounts of copolymerizable monomers such as methyl methacrylate or vinyl acetate; and the like. Although it is presently preferred that all of the yarns in the fabric have the same color, yarns of two or more colors can be employed. The denier of each yarn can vary With the type of fabric desired. Generally the yarn denier Will be in the range of 70 to 200, and With multifilament yarn the dpf Will usually be in the range of 2 to 5.

In a specific fabric having the repeat pattern of four courses by twelve Wales illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, each yarn is 150/34 polyester continuous filament yarn With approximately 0.5 Z turns per inch in a bulked, textured form. The fabric Was made on a Wildt Mellor Bromley Ltd. circular double knit machine Type/ RJ, having a thirty inch diameter cylinder and employing 18 dial needles to the inch and 18 cylinder needles to the inch. The fabric Was dyed, tumble dried and heat set. The finished fabric has a Weight of approxmately 7 ounces per square yard.

Reasonable variations and modifications are possible Within the scope of the foregoing disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims to the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A double knit fabric having first and second sets of alternating Wales, said first set of alternating Wales forming the face of said fabric and said second set of alternating Wales forming the reverse side of said fabric;

each course comprising at least a first yarn and a second yarn;

each set of stitches formed by the intersecton of a course and one of said first set of alternating Wales comprising a knit stitch in one of the said at least first and second yarns and a Welt stitch in the remainder of said at least first and second yarns;

each of said second set of alternating Wales having a repeating stitch pattern of a knit stitch, at least one Welt stitch, and a tuck stitch, With the stitch pattern of adjacent pairs of said second set of alternating Wales being offset With respect to each other.

2. A double knit fabric in accordance With claim 1 Wherein each course consists of a first yarn and a second yarn.

3. A double knit fabric in accordance With claim 1 Wherein said repeating stitch pattern for each of said second set of alternating Wales consists of a knit stitch, tWo Welt stitches and a tuck stitch.

4. A double knit fabric in accordance With claim 3 Wherein said repeating stitch pattern is K-W-W-T.

5. A double knit fabric in accordance With claim 1 Wherein said first set of alternating Wales comprises first, second and third groups of Wales arranged in serial repeating sequence of a Wale of said first group, a Wale of said second group and a Wale of said third group;

the courses being arranged in serial repeating sequence of a first course, a second course, a third course, and a fourth course;

the first yarn of each course having a knit stitch and the second yarn of each course having a Welt stitch in each said first course for said first and second groups of Wales, in each said second course for said second and third groups of Wales, and in the third and fourth courses for the third group of Wales;

the first yarn of each course having a Welt stitch and the second yarn of each course having a knit stitch in each said first course for Said third groups of Wales, in each said second course for said first group of Wales, and in the third and fourth courses for the first and second groups of Wales. 6. A double knit fabric in accordance With claim 1 Wherein said second set of alternating Wales comprises an odd numbered set of Wales and an even numbered set of Wales, the first yarn of each odd numbered course having a Welt stitch in the said odd numbered set of Wales and a knit stitch in the said even numbered set of Wales, the second yarn of each odd numbered course having a tuck stitch in the said odd numbered set of Wales and a Welt stitch in the said even numbered set of Wales, the first yarn of each even numbered course having a knit stitch in the said odd numbered set of Wales and a Welt stitch in the said even numbered set of Wales, and the second yarn of each even numbered course having a Welt stitch in the said odd numbered set of Wales and a tuck stitch in the said even numbered set of Wales.

7. A double knit fabric in accordance With claim 6 Wherein said first set of alternating Wales comprises first, second and third groups of Wales arranged in serial repeating sequence of a Wale of said first group, a Wale of said second group and a Wale of said third group;

the courses being arranged in serial repeating sequence for said first set of alternating Wales of a first course, a second course, a third course, and a fourth course;

the first yarn of each course having a knit stitch and the second yarn of each course having a Welt stitch in each said first course for said first and second groups of Wales, in each said second course for said second and third groups of Wales, and in the third and fourth courses for the third group of Wales;

the first yarn of each course having a Welt stitch and the second yarn of each course having a knit stitch in each said first course for said third groups of Wales, in each said second course for said first group of Wales, and in the third and fourth courses for the first and second groups of Wales.

8. A double knit fabric in accordance With claim 7 Wherein each of said first and second yarns is a texturized continuous multifilament polyester yarn.

References Cited Demeseg: Knitted Surface Effects for Autumn '67, In Man Made Textiles, November 1966, vol. 43, No. 509, pages 50 to 52.

Lancashire: Knitting of Double Knit Blister Fabrics, In Knitted OuterWear Tmes, March 1969, vol. 38, No. 9, pages to 67.

RONALD FELDBAUM, Primary Examiner 

